Day 18 – A Bit About Pigs and Raw Stuffed Peppers

Pigs live in equally horrible conditions on factory farms and are confined to tiny stalls stacked on top of each other. These extremely crowded conditions cause them to exhibit signs of anxiety such as compulsively chewing on the bars of their crates. Pigs have flesh cut out of their ears, pieces of their teeth removed with wire cutters, and their tails cut off without any anesthetic.

The enormous number of pigs accumulate an enormous amount of filth, urine, and feces. This results in about 25% of pigs with mange and another 75% with pneumonia by the time they reach the slaughterhouse. Pigs are fed similarly to other animals in factory farms, cheaply for the best profit. Drugs and hormones build up in their bodies and are passed on to the consumer. Growth hormones cause crippling under their own weight.

Pigs eat anything (garbage, rotting meat and vegetables, etc.), and factory farmers take full advantage of that. These scavengers can be sustained with mostly anything. However, the toxicity in their food does not get filtered out through their digestive systems, as it does in most other animals. Instead, the toxins are stored in the pigs’ bodies as fat, which is then sold in stores for humans to eat.

At the slaughterhouse, pigs are stunned for the purpose of a more humane death. However, many times stunning is not done properly because of the large number of pigs that pass through. Many pigs are dropped, still conscious into scalding-hot tanks used to soften to skin.

Get informed about what you eat!

Here is another take on my sun pâté recipe, in case you are in the mood for something healthy ;)

Raw Curry Stuffed Peppers

2 red bell peppers (capsicums)
1 Sun Pâté recipe
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery
1/2 onion
1 zucchini
3-4 mushrooms
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)

• Make a batch of Sun Pâté in a medium bowl.
• Chop remaining ingredients and stir into pâté.
• Slice peppers in half long-ways. Spoon stuffing into pepper and serve.